2010-2011

The Big One: Lessons from the Chilean Earthquake

Science Pub premieres this season with a presentation that examines how Chile was able to survive its most recent major earthquake with little loss of life, while the death toll from a much smaller earthquake in Haiti only weeks before was devastating? What is in store for us in the Pacific Northwest? And what can we do to prepare?

December 21 • McMenamins, Bend

Where There’s Smoke ...

Fire has played a vital role in the health of forest ecosystems for millennia. In the last century through, our society has progressively feared, battled and ignored that role. The results of this approach appear regularly in the news. John Bailey will explore the severe impacts on forest health and management policy -- tens of thousands of acres of dead forests and abnormal wildfire – and the solutions.

January 18 • McMenamins, Bend

The Promise of Wave Power

An untapped renewable energy source exists in the world's oceans: it's estimated that if 0.2% of the oceans' untapped energy could be harnessed, it would provide power sufficient for the entire world. Brekken's fascinating presentation explores the opportunities for ocean wave power to become a new, reliable and clean source of affordable renewable energy. He'll also show you how wave energy research and developments at Oregon State University can establish Oregon as a leader in wave power.

February 15 • McMenamins, Bend

Not Quite Adults: Why 20-Somethings are Choosing a Slower Path to Adulthood, and Why It’s Good for Everyone

Why are 20-somethings delaying adulthood? The media have flooded us with negative headlines about this generation, from their sense of entitlement to their immaturity. In their new book, Not Quite Adults (Bantam Dell; December 28, 2010), Settersten and co-author Barbara Ray draw on almost a decade of research and nearly 500 interviews to shatter these stereotypes. Their book culminates in an unexpected truth: A slower path to adulthood is good for all of us. Settersten is the endowed director of OSU's Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families.

March 15 • Three Creeks Brewery, Sisters

Views from the Middle of the Mountains

Tucked in the western Cascades between Eugene and Sisters, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest has been a hotbed for forest ecosystems research for decades. Both vilified and glorified for the research it output in the late 20th century, the Andrews Forest has inexorably changed the way we understand and manage forests and forest streams. The long-term research program underway at Andrews is more important now than ever before. Barbara Bond, OSU’s lead scientist for research at Andrews will share her views about recent and current research and show how it's as much about people as it is about the forest.

April 19 • McMenamins, Bend

Sports in Our Society – Does it Build Character or Characters?

Today, sport is a cultural phenomenon and in some schools of thought there are questions about its value, importance and overemphasis in society. Coach Liskevych will provide an analysis of sport worldwide and in the USA, from youth sport to the Olympic and professional levels, and suggest a collegiate model that would change the landscape of the present system. He'll also present n overview of athletics at OSU and a glimpse into the life of an OSU volleyball player.

Furry, round-eared and smaller than a rabbit, the American pika was petitioned for protection under the US Endangered Species Act in 2007, with climate change cited as its principle threat. The petition was rejected, because pika had been documented in scattered low-elevation environments in the West. OSU-Cascades faculty and students recently discovered an undocumented pika population here in Central Oregon -- and plan to monitor them closely. Join Matt Shinderman to discover how their study may help us better understand how some species adapt to climate change and how this population in Central Oregon factors into the species’ survival

June 21• McMenamins, Bend

The Ecology of Fear: The Role of Large Predators in Environmental Harmony

Bill Ripplehas pioneered research in the role of large predators in a natural environment with groundbreaking studies in Yellowstone, Olympic, Yosemite, Wind Cave, and Zion national parks. Following the disappearance of large predators in the West, increased elk and deer browsing appears to have heavily impacted plant communities and led to a loss of biodiversity. Only in Yellowstone National Park, where wolves have been reintroduced, does it appear that the impacts to plant communities are being reversed. Join Ripple to explore the effects of reintroduction of wolves in other areas of the West and how that can initiate ecosystem restoration.